Masks
by Anjelik
Summary: HIATUS!Let's play pretend. Let's pretend I'm not married to a man I hate, and let's pretend you like me. Would you kiss me then, Sasuke-kun? AU SasuSaku! Please R
1. Chapter 1

Rating – M ( I can't believe I'm trying M-rated stories now O.o)

Warning – is somewhat AU...Sakura is mostly AU :)

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, if I would, SasuSaku would have happened ages ago...and they'd be making babies like bunnies by now .! 

**Masks**

1.Chapter

"Sakura-hime!"

The pink haired girl sighed and snuggled deeper into the soft and warm pillow, inviting her back into the much simpler world of dreams. No maids spying on her every move, no family members to criticize her every action, no parties and celebrations where she's displayed like a piece of meat, and definitely no leering husband. Life was just great in the dream world.

"Sakura-hime!"

Just ignore the voice. Just ignore it.

"SAKURA-HIME!"

Sakura sighed and slowly sat up, they would have probably dragged her out of bed if she had not done so on her own. So much for having respect...

The older maid gave her a stern look, "We must get you dressed Sakura-hime, you are to attend a meeting with Nigiri-sama!"

The words may have been polite but the tone of her voice suggested otherwise. Sakura was used to being treated like this. After all, she was a girl of almost 19 years, with no noble background, no noble upbringing and yet here she was, married to the daimyo, 52 years old and filthy rich. And as soon as the maids found out how shy and nervous she was, they started using it against her. Of course, they never showed their disrespect openly, they usually resorted to whispering about her among themselves when they thought she couldn't hear. Or better said, when she pretended not to hear anything. Sometimes they'd call her a whore, who seduced their precious Nigiri-sama into marriage. Sometimes, when she'd take longer to get out of bed in the morning or when she'd accidentally break a tea cup, while trying to play the role of the obedient little wife, they'd call her ill-mannered and clumsy and then talk about it in the kitchen for days. And Nigiri-sama's family? They reminded Sakura of a pack of wild animals, attacking every chance they're given. It wasn't a big surprise they hated her, really. She was below them, an intruder in their little world of luxury and grace.

And her husband...given the chance, she'd never become his wife in the first place.

"I don't know what Nigiri-sama sees in her, " the young maid, named Shizuka, whispered to her friend as they passed her chambers.

"He was probably blinded by the pink hair of hers, " the other girl whispered back and they shared a good laugh at the expense of Sakura, who once again cursed her good hearing.

* * *

And they wondered she was reluctant to get up in the mornings.

"Nigiri-sama," Sakura greeted her husband and bowed, lowering her gaze to look at the floor. She never could see her husband in the eyes. Sometimes, he creeped her out. But she quickly dismissed such thoughts, he was her husband and she was out of line thinking such things.

"Sakura," he greeted her back, his piercing gray eyes studying her form in front of him. His eyes traveled along her body, taking in every detail, from how she was dressed to how much make-up she wore. She was a perfect little doll, for him to play with and show around.

"I told you to use less make-up," he growled and roughly grabbed her chin, rubbing her painted lips with his other hand, "I don't want you to look like a tart ."

She stood still while he roughly removed all the lipstick she carefully put on that morning to look more elegant and woman-like. It was tiring to feel out of place all the time, especially among the wives of other feudal lords, who all looked like they stepped out of a beauty magazine.

Satisfied when all the lipstick was gone, Nigiri let go of her chin, and gave a satisfied nod, approving of her appearance. Before she even had the chance to react, he grabbed her by the elbow and guided her towards door, separating them from their guests.

She sighed and tucked a wayward strand of pink hair behind her ear, it was time to face the music, once again.

* * *

Sakura didn't remember much about Konoha, her hometown, she was only 7 years old when her parents divorced and she left the village with her father to live in a little town near the borders. The leader of Konohagakure was the Hokage, that much she knew. The best and most respected ninja far and wide. She remembered the third hokage being a gentle and mild-mannered man with the patience of a saint and great wisdom. The memory of him was a bit hazy...but he definitely wasn't anything like the fifth, Sakura decided, while looking at the blond woman sitting opposite her. She was young, beautiful and very well-endowed, almost too much for someone as highly-regarded as her. The woman in front of her definitely didn't look like a hokage to the pink haired girl.

" Would you like some tea, Tsunade-hime?" Nigiri asked politely, glancing at his new and expensive tea set, hoping to impress the blond haired woman with his wealth.

Tsunade looked him straight in the eyes and then glanced at her with something akin to pity in her brown orbs.

"Let's get straight to business, shall we?" Tsunade coldly replied, clearly not interested in exchanging any kinds of pleasantries with the daimyo.

The rest of the conversation revolved around politics and things of no interest to Sakura, who had trouble stifling her yawns, not to look rude or impolite. Her thought drifted back to Tsunade, who was currently holding her own in an argument with Nigiri and was passionately gesturing with her hand to illustrate her point.

Sakura couldn't help but wonder, would she be a little bit more like Tsunade-sama if she would've stayed in Konoha and became a ninja like she always wanted to? Would she be brave and strong...and perhaps even self-confident? Tsunade-sama surely wouldn't tolerate being treated like a lifeless puppet.

Sakura sighed and looked around the room, hoping to find something to occupy her mind while the Hokage and her husband worked out their differences. Her eyes traveled from the pair of ninja guarding the room to the form of her husband, sitting next to her, before settling on the open window. It was a beautiful day outside and she would give almost everything to be able to go out and enjoy running around barefoot in the damp grass like she used to when she was younger. If she tried really hard, she could even feel the the moist softness under her feet, hear the happy chirping of birds and smell the sweet scent of flowers being carried by the slight breeze caressing her face.

"Under no circumstances will Konohagakure attack Kirigakure. And that is that." the angry voice of the Hokage brought Sakura back to reality.

"Tsunade-hime, please reconsider! The threat I received cannot be ignored like that. I, the daimy-"

"There are still other means to resolve this conflict, force MUST be our last resort." Tsunade cut him off and slammed her fist against the wooden table.

"But they've already used strength, Tsunade-hime, attacking civilians traveling through their territory. You must understand, they're endangering civilians now. Tell me this isn't a serious matter, deserving serious action to be taken. It is for the good of the people." Nigiri patiently explained, taking Tsunade's hand in his in a comforting gesture, "I understand your reluctance to fight, dear Tsu-"

She jerked her hand out of his and growled at him, "Touch me again and I'll break all the bones in your hand. Titles be damned."

His eyes widen at the prospect of having to suffer such pain and he immediately hid the threatened body part under the table. After a second or two, he realized just how childish that gesture seemed, and grabbed Sakura's hand in instead. Sakura gave him a questioning look but let him touch her, after all, he WAS her husband.

"I am very sorry if I angered you, Tsunade-sama, I didn't mean any harm," he pointedly looked at Sakura and she instantly knew he required her assistance. After all, two years of marriage drill is enough time to get to know even the most insignificant of his looks.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama, please forgive my husband. I assure you, he had only the best intentions on his mind," she automatically replied and smiled her best fake smile. Fake. Just like everything in her life. Fake smiles, fake laughter, fake politeness, she was so used to faking that she almost forgot how reality felt like.

Tsunade looked her in the eyes and the gaze sent shiver up and down her spine. It wasn't a menacing sort of look, but one that looked past all the fake smiles, one that shattered all her defenses and left her feeling naked, for all the world to see. It almost seemed that she saw through her false pretense of happiness...and it scared Sakura. Was she really so easily to read?

"I'll let it slide this time. Just pour me some sake or something," the blond haired woman grumbled and Nigiri sighed, it seemed that the Hokage successfully ended their discussion. He nodded and that was Sakura's cue. She stood up as gracefully as she could and went to fetch the sake bottle from the little table in the corner of the room. Before she could get to her destination a weird rustle caught her attention. It seemed to be coming from outside, but looking out of the window, she saw nobody there. She rolled her eyes at her paranoia and was about to turn around when Tsunade screamed at her to get down. She was so surprised that she just stood there, not really knowing what was going on. Suddenly a pain like no other before in her life shot through her body and she felt dizzy, her vision became blurry and the last thing she saw before blackness took over, was a pair of concerned brown eyes, Tsunade's eyes.

* * *

Author's note – Umm...I'll try to update regularly, but I don't know how often yet. I'm quite the perfectionist, so writing something usually means a lot of thinking over and correcting...and yes, it takes time. Plus, this is my first year at university, so I'm not sure how much free time I can spare...but I'll try :) Gotta spread the SasuSaku love, ne?

Please read and review, cause it makes me infinitely happy :) I'll be stalking my mailbox lol

And please, excuse me any kinds of grammar or spelling mistakes I may have made, I'm not a native English-speaker. I'm from Slovakia, if you can guess where it is, I'll give you a virtual cookie :)


	2. Chapter 2

Warning – M-rated chapter. It isn't technically rape but...oh well...

Hope you like it! Please R&R

**Masks**

2. Chapter

Sakura looked around in the darkness and shivered slightly when a cold breeze brushed her heated skin. She didn't know where she was, she only knew she couldn't stay there anymore. Her breathing grew erratic, her hands trembled and her mind played nasty tricks on her. She could have sworn something, somewhere in the endless dark moved...or not? Wasn't that a silhouette standing there? Was someone here with her? The thought of not being alone was even scarier than being in this darkness alone. Loneliness she knew, she could cope with it, she has done so a long time...but what if this person wasn't...human? Would it want to...hurt her? Sakura shook her head, she always had a vivid imagination, seeing fairies and nymphs among the tree leaves and ghosts and monsters in every dark corner. She quickly made a decision and ran forward...or was it backward? The darkness was pitch black and cold, so cold. She closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing, being nervous didn't help her one bit, she should remain calm and level-headed, right?

After running for what seemed like hours, she spotted light in the far distance, so she run even faster. Light was a good sign, right?

She let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding, she was almost there, the source of light was so close now!

Suddenly something sticky and cold grabbed her ankle and she fell forward, expecting pain but it never came. She continued falling and falling...and falling. There was nothing up nor down, she was surrounded by pure blackness. Tears were gathering in Sakura's green eyes. Life hasn't been easy for her in a long time, but that didn't mean she wanted to die, she still had so many things to do and see...

She started to feel sick and nauseas, the blackness was smothering and cold, so cold...Her will to fight was slowly leaving her, and as a last attempt to save her life, she closed her eyes and let out a loud cry.

"Sakura, are you alright?" a woman's voice asked and Sakura instantly opened her green eyes and stared at the concerned face of Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of Konohagakure.

"Are you alright?"she repeated and Sakura blinked a couple of times, not believing that the darkness suffocating her a mere minute ago was just a terrible nightmare. She looked around and noticed she was in Nigiri's room, sitting in his comfy double bed. Why was she here?

Remembering that Tsunade was waiting for and answer, she shakily smiled and replied,"Yes, I'm alright, thank you for your concern, Tsunade-sama"

"You're too polite for a girl your age," the blond Hokage smirked, "I'm not very used to that. "

"But you're the Hokage..." Sakura objected weakly, but Tsunade just waved it off.

"That never stopped anyone before. In fact, I know one boy you're age and he's one of the rudest people I know. "

"B-but..."

"No buts, the politeness of yours makes me feel old, so...drop it off, ok?"

Sakura uncertainly nodded and looked at her hands. Should she say something now? What should they talk about? What do hokage's talk about?

"So, how are you feeling now?" Tsunade asked, intently staring at the bemused pink haired girl. Why shouldn't she be feeling well? Oh yeah, she fainted, didn't she?

"I'm...I feel fine...just a little bit sore," she gingerly touched her shoulder, "what exactly happened?"

"A kunai wound. But don't worry, I fixed it. It won't even leave a scar, "she proudly exclaimed and patted Sakura's hand who wasn't paying much attention to the gesture. Her mind couldn't comprehend the fact that somebody wanted to kill her. _Her._ The nobody among all the somebodies. Should she feel flattered?

"Umm...with kunai...you mean the weapon? As in ninja weapon number one?"

Tsunade looked at her strangely but nodded, "Some might argue with shuriken, but yeah, I'm talking about the weapon."

Sakura carefully leaned against the pillow, reality slowly sinking in. Someone tried to kill her. And they might try it again, anytime...maybe even now. Her eyes widened. She frantically looked around the huge room belonging to her husband, watching out for anything unusual or suspicious.

"Don't worry...your husband already took care of your protection, " the blond reassured her, gently patting her pink head and smiling encouragingly. "You'll have a team from Konoha acting as your bodyguards 24/7."

Sakura looked skeptic, why should one team make a difference? If someone tried to kill her again, would they be able to save her? Just one team?

"You don't seem very happy about it..." Tsunade frowned but brightened as an idea hit her. "Don't worry, I'll send you the handsomest team in Konohagakure! God knows Naruto has been bothering me to get him a mission in ages now. "

Sakura turned bright red at the prospect of meeting boys her age and tried to cover her face with her hands. She hasn't had contact with any boys since she married Nigiri-sama...and now this...

But even though it kind of scared the hell out of her, it was exciting as well...Men?...Handsome?

"Sakura, dear, I'm so happy to see you're alright!" Nigiri loudly exclaimed, gaining the attention of the whole room. He practically ran to the pink haired girl and crushed her little frame against his large one, enveloping her in a bear hug. Sakura could hardly breath, not to mention she wasn't used to such public display of affection and resisted the urge to pull away as far as possible. But shame prevented her from doing so, she was after all, his wife and it was her duty to provide him all the comfort he needed. And if he wanted to hug her, so be it...Who cares that his touch sent unpleasant chills up and down her spine...or that his arms around her felt so...suffocating and for the lack of better terms, wrong.

"Tsunade-hime, we are forever in your dept, if it wasn't for your superior medical skill-"

"She would live. Whoever shot the kunai didn't aim to kill." Tsunade gave him a glare and stood up from her chair. "I'll send a team to protect your wife as soon as possible." Her tone was flat and emotionless, when addressing the daimyo. She gave them both a polite nod and quickly left the room.

As soon the door closed behind her, Nigiri let go of Sakura and stood up from the bed.

"I asked Tsunade to send a team of her shinobi to protect you."

She nodded in consent. It wasn't even a question, more like an order, anyway.

"I await you in my room tonight," his cold voice ordered and she nodded once more. She really didn't have much of a choice, did she?

"Good," he replied and marched out of the room without even sparing her a glance. Sakura let out a breath she wasn't even aware of holding. As weird as it sounded, even after almost two years of marriage, his touch on her skin felt so foreign...as if it was wrong and shouldn't be there in the first place. And their conversations were always strained and awkward, for her that is. Nigiri seemed content enough with the way their relationship worked.

Sakura gave a bitter laugh, tears gathering in her green orbs. Great, he'll be waiting for her tonight. Strangely, the thought of joining Nigiri in bed, even though it wasn't the first time, was more frightening than any potential attempt to murder her.

Deciding that thinking about her...wifely duties wasn't helping at all, she stood up from the bed and decided to take a little nap in her own bed. No reason to stay in her husband's room longer than necessary. The door gave a resolute 'bam' as it closed behind her.

* * *

Walking to Nigiri's room was like walking to your own funeral, Sakura noted. It was dark outside, the halls of the vast traditional house that was her home, were empty and barely lit. She passed a long corridor, decorated with paintings of the previous daimyo's in golden frames with intricate designs, before reaching a the huge ballroom, where Nigiri's parties and receptions took place. She crossed the room as quickly as possible, because it was the coldest one in the palace and she was clad only in a thin nightgown made of blue satin, that was given to her by her husband. Quite pointless, actually, he'll get rid of it as soon as I step into his room, Sakura thought bitterly, but proceeded to make her way to her destination. Just as she was about to take a turn to the left, that would lead to Nigiri's bedroom, she noticed light coming from the opposite direction. She was quite surprised because that part of the mansion wasn't being used under normal circumstances, it was reserved for the most noble of guests. And as far as she remembered, Tsunade-sama already left for Konohagakure. Sakura hesitated for a moment or two, unsure if she should intrude or not. In the end, curiosity got the best of her and she turned around, heading towards the light source. She took small steps, trying to remain as silent as possible, not to get caught. It was quite funny, really, sneaking around in her own house. Talk about being respected...

The light was coming from a room at the far end of the corridor and was illuminating a large part of the passageway, so she crossed to the other side, remaining hidden in the comforting arms of the shadows. As she got nearer, Sakura's ears caught snippets of a hushed conversation.

"It was...easier...thought...Nigiri... pay..."

"Next time...for real..."

Sakura tilted her head closer to the door to hear better but they seemed to have already ended their discussion and her ears only met the rustling of clothes and then heavy steps. They seemed to be coming closer and Sakura shrunk back in fright, ready to bolt at any moment. Her heart was racing, her breath grew erratic and her hands shook. It really wasn't a good idea coming here...what if they're the people who tried to kill her? You know what they say...curiosity killed the cat...

Suddenly, there was a 'click' and the light turned off, leaving them in complete darkness. Sakura pushed herself against the wall, hoping to disappear in the shadows, and closed her eyes, silently praying for them to leave and not notice her.

This really wasn't a good idea.

But instead of hearing their steps pass her by, like she anticipated, she heard the window being opened ( at least she thought it was the window ) and then there was silence. Deadly silence.

She waited for a few seconds before deeming it safe enough to leave and then ran as fast as possible towards Nigiri's room. She'd be safe there, wouldn't she?

Before she even knew it, she found herself in front of Nigiri's chambers, heavily panting. Sakura gave herself a couple of seconds to even out her breathing, before knocking softly on the door. She decided not to tell him about what she saw moments before. He probably wouldn't believe her anyway...and he'd get angry at her for meddling in things of no importance to her. Maybe she was just overreacting. There were guards stationed in around the mansion, practically everywhere. There was no chance of unwanted people getting in, right?

She was brought out of her thoughts when the doors were thrown open and she stood in front of Nigiri himself, clad only in his scarlet bathrobe.

"Where the hell have you been so long?" he hissed at her before grabbing her hand and yanking her into his room. He slammed the door behind him and Sakura flinched at the loud sound.

"Doesn't matter now," he murmured, unfastening his robe. The pink haired woman quickly looked down, he wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Get on the bed," he ordered and she did what he said without complaining. This was her duty, she kept telling herself even as he strode towards the bed.

_This was her duty. _He was her husband after all...she did marry him.

His large body covered hers, his large abdomen crushing her small waist.

_This was her duty._

Her silky nightgown was discarded, as well as her bra and panties.

_This was her duty._

His mouth devoured her breasts and she gave a sharp hiss. He moaned in response, ignoring the pain he was causing her with his actions. His greedy hands traveled along her body, touching her roughly, bruising her sensitive pale skin.

"Moan for me," he grunted, his wet mouth against her soft stomach and she did so, like the little obedient wife that she was. She was good at pretending, she decided as his hands seized her rear forcefully and she gave a moan, even if all she wanted to do was kneel him in the groin and run away as fast as possible. He grabbed her long pink hair in his fist and tugged forcefully, pulling out a couple of strands in the process. She yelped but was effectively silenced when he stuck his fingers inside of her mouth. She almost gagged.

_This was her duty._

She felt his hard length rub against her inner thigh and closed her eyes as tightly as possible, preparing herself for what surely would come.

_This was her duty_.

He was rough, he always liked it rough, not caring one bit about her small whimpers as he thrust deeper and harder with his member. She felt his hands everywhere, bruising her skin, pulling her hair, groping her chest as his pace grew quicker and harsher. His pants and groans grew more frequent. He was nearing his orgasm, while she looked out of the window and moaned like he asked her to. The night was beautiful tonight, the moon forming a perfect o and the stars twinkling against the dark blue sky.

Nigiri thrust into her once more, hard, rough and deep, before collapsing on top of her, crushing her small frame with his. The smell of sweat and sex hung heavily in the air and it felt strangely suffocating to Sakura. Tears gathered in her forest green eyes, but she didn't cry, she stopped doing so long ago, it was pointless. She WAS his wife after all. After a while, which seemed like eternity to Sakura, he rolled off her and stood up from the bed, heading towards his bathroom. She uncertainly sat up and covered her naked body with the silky bed sheets. Pointless, yes, but she needed it. She needed all the distance she could get.

"You can leave now,"Nigiri announced and closed the bathroom door behind him.

And she left. And gladly so.

End of 2nd Chapter

Author's note – The last part was disgusting to write. Bleh...Hope you liked it though...please read and review, it makes me so so so so happy :)

Quote of the moment –

Someday your prince charming will come. Mine just took a wrong turn, got lost, and is too stubborn to ask for directions.  
_- Unknown_

And thank you to all you who reviewed. You are great, guys!


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